Evaluating Roberto Tuttoli's views on Prophet Shu'ayb (AS) in the Quran

Document Type : پژوهشی

Authors

1 Department of Islamic Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

2 Member of the faculty of the Department of Quranic and Hadith Sciences, Faculty of Theology, Farabi School, University of Tehran

3 Master of Quran and Hadith Sciences, University of Tehran

Abstract

His Highness Shu‘ayb (a) was one of the prophets who preached using the Arabic language. The Qur’ān has given a complete illustration of the story of this prophet. This has grabbed the attention of orientalists such as Roberto Tottoli, who has attributed some criticisms toward this story. Since his criticisms are based on non-Islamic grounds (i.e., Judeo-Christian resources), this article intends to explicate these criticisms using a descriptive-analytical method and then criticize them. Tottoli’s opinions about the Islamic portrayal of His Highness Shu‘ayb (a) include the existence of contradiction in the qur’ānic verses related to the story of Shu‘ayb (a), the differences in the explanations provided by exegetes about the details of this story, the differences among exegetes about the present-day location of Ayka as the place where his proselytism took place, the imitation of part of the story (that is, the encounter of His Highness Shu‘ayb (a) and His Highness Moses) from the Bible, and the introduction of Mecca as the burial place of His Highness Shu‘ayb (a). These viewpoints are criticized in this article as follows. First, the Qur’ān explicitly rejects the existence of any contradiction in its verses, and this has been supported by narrations as well. Moreover, the differences in the exegetes’ explanations for the present-day location of Ayka cannot be taken to mean the falseness of the story itself, especially when the correct explanation is easily identifiable through some reflection. In addition, the additional aspects of the life and prophethood of His Highness Shu‘ayb (a) provided by the Qur’ān completely reject its imitation from the Bible. Finally, some narrations deem that His Highness Shu‘ayb (a) has been buried in Palestine, and this stance is both more valid and more congruent with Orientalists’ beliefs.

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